


I'd Rather Be With You

by holdmeclosertinytaron



Category: Taron Egerton - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:41:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25575982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdmeclosertinytaron/pseuds/holdmeclosertinytaron





	I'd Rather Be With You

Roast Me, a coffee shop that sat a mere ten seconds away from Wapping’s overground station, was on a street where there weren’t many other businesses. At least none that anyone really knew much about. The lane that ran in front of it was narrow, wide enough for only one car and a single pedestrian. One may believe, by looking at the shop that sat in the middle of nothing, so to speak, that there couldn’t possibly be many people there. 

The coffee itself, however, was warm and inviting. From the second that the door opened and the bell tinkled above your head, you were wrapped in a warm blanket and placed by a roaring fire. Not literally but definitely figuratively. A gentle, orange light came from the low hanging lights with the vintage bulbs that look so lovely. The tables, and the counter alike, were a dark wood and there were two to four chairs made out of the same wood around them. 

The inside of the coffee shop was warm and it was impossible for you to not feel at home and cosy when you were there. A definite contrast to the bitterly cold and grey outside that was the city of London.

The rain had started to pitter patter against the full length windows only a few minutes after Maddox’s shift had started. And within the hour, it became torrential. Large, heavy drops of rain crashing against the glass and the ground outside, splashing up and creating their own rain shower. There had been more than once that Maddox had turned to the windows in anticipation, convinced that they were going to shatter with the brute force of the rain drops. But each time she was able to turn back around with a sigh of relief, only to look again within five minutes. 

When she casually looked over to the windows to see the outside world, she could barely see the other side of the path with the way the rain created a blanket outside. She could just about make out a singular car, a black Range Rover, or so she thought, and that itself looked very out of place. Other than that she couldn’t see a single thing which made her very glad that she still had a few hours left of her shift where she could shield away from the rain outside. It helped that she was able to stay toasty inside before she locked up for the night. 

For whatever reason, the closing shift had always been her favourite shift to do. All of the workmen who nipped in would only ever order drinks to take away so they weren’t there for long, the parents who had been in at lunch to have a natter had already left to collect their children from school before she got there and the evening commute had not yet started--not that the latter affected the shop in any way whatsoever. When she had her interview at Roast Me, she’d made it known that she loved doing closing shifts and she had no issues with the opening shifts, just as long as she had notice and could make herself a cup of coffee when she got there. 

Both of the shifts were relaxing and easy to get through. To the point where it almost felt like she was getting paid to do no work. Not that she wasn’t doing work, of course. But making coffee was something that she enjoyed and that relaxed her. Every person had a different order and she could almost depict the kind of person that they were simply by the drink that they asked for. There were so many people that she met and she loved making them a drink that they would sit and enjoy, or stand and enjoy too. 

Not only did she love getting to know the customers that walked into the shop, she also enjoyed the art of coffee making. Grinding the coffee beans that had been toasted the night before so that she could brew it, steaming the milk to pour into the shot of coffee, and using said milk to create a piece of artwork at the top of every customer’s cup. She had made so many coffees in her short two years working at Roast Me that she was certain that she could make them in her sleep. 

The environment of the shop as a whole perfectly fit with her aesthetic, which was definitely an added bonus of working there. The far back wall was lined with bookshelves that held hundreds of different books. Some of which she had read multiple times over and others she had never read in her life. The tables were scattered neatly around the place and each had a mason jar filled with fairy lights in the middle. Above most of the tables--and the counter where Maddox spent most of her time--were low hanging pendant lights. 

That’s one of the things that she loved the most about the coffee shop. The fact that the place wasn’t too bright. There was enough light coming in from outside during the day that the bulbs weren’t really used to light the place. They were more of a decorative piece. And on days when it wasn’t bright outside, the lights gave off the perfect amount of light. Enough that you could see what you were doing, who you were talking to (if anybody at all) and the drink in front of you, but not too bright where you would get a headache simply from being inside. 

Even on the coldest, most dull day of the year, Maddox found the shop magical. Soft and gentle. Especially on days when the clouds were so full of rain that it looked like the middle of the night despite it only being 2:30 in the afternoon. The colours were warm and made you feel as though you’d stepped into an oasis of relaxation, even though you were in London and surrounded by the worst weather. 

Normally, Maddox would leave the door to the back office open while she worked so that she could nip in when there weren’t any customers in to work on her university assignments and sneak a few minutes on her phone while it was quiet. But as soon as the bell rang above the door, she would run out and greet the customer with a smile and a _hi, how are you?_. 

That day, however, she decided that instead of hiding away to do university reading, she would give the place a quick clean so that she had less to do before leaving. She knew that there wouldn’t be many more customers going that afternoon with the rain being as heavy and relentless as it was. The only people there at that point were the Richards, but they sat in the far corner sharing a pot of tea and a slice of cake. 

She reached over to the radio that sat behind the counter and twisted the volume knob slightly, letting the sound of John Lennon’s _Imagine_ fill the place a little more. Terry quickly turned away from his wife and to the young woman who had already grabbed the cleaner from under the counter and a spare rag. He smiled at her and she smiled back, happy that everyone could enjoy the music happily. 

As she roamed around the room, cleaning each table thoroughly while stacking any cups that needed to be taken to the kitchen, she could hear Terry’s soft voice singing to Beatrice whose lips were turned up into a huge grin that was hard to conceal. There was something about the love that the older shared that made Maddox so indescribably happy. They were so pure, always smiling at one another and sharing their pot of tea, and Maddox came to love their love and hoped that one day in her future she could have what they had. 

The couple would whisper sweet nothings to one another and tell one another just how in love they are. There’d even been days when Terry had grabbed a random book from the shelf behind them to read to her while they sipped their tea. His favourite shelf to go to was the shelf where all of the books were wrapped in brown paper so that one wouldn’t know what the book they grabbed was. 

It was always fun to see which book you had grabbed, opening it on the first page and reading the words that flowed from the book through your whole body as you fell into a whole new world. It could be a world that you’d found yourself falling into a thousand times before and fallen in love with it completely, or it could be a world that you’d never visited before. Whichever it was, there hadn’t been a single time that anyone had grabbed one of the books and then put it back. Without knowing the name of the book, you had no expectations or prejudgements about it. 

Maddox continued to clean the shop, piling more odd cups onto trays to take into the kitchen, straightening the chairs so that they looked neat and adjusting the odd book on the shelves so that they were perfect. She sprayed the cleaner and wiped it around the tables in time with the music, finding herself singing along to the songs that played on the radio, subconsciously harmonising with the elderly man in the corner who continued to sing to his wife. 

When she’d cleaned all that she could and moved to stand behind the counter again where she was able to clean there too, a crack of thunder echoed throughout the whole room just before the sky lit up with the prettiest silver as the lightning followed. Many people hated storms and would shy away at the first prediction that one would hit. But not Maddox. 

Maddox loved storms. Words fell from her mind onto paper and her fingertips created melodies on her guitar that sounded the whole room. A storm was the greatest inspiration that she could have, for a reason that she hadn’t yet managed to figure out. Maybe it was the way the thunder created a beat that echoed throughout the air like a core drum beat, or maybe it was the way the sky shone so beautifully above her, each a different bolt of lightning a different shape, a different shade. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the way that the world seemed to come to a halt. 

The world seemed to hide away when there was a storm and the outside was still apart from the rain that hit the ground in droplets. No one moved. No one rushed. London didn’t feel like the capital city anymore. It became the countryside, with that perfect rainy smell. It became home, really. 

There had been many times in her life where she would curl up in the armchair that was tucked into the corner of her bedroom at home and listen to nothing but the sound of the storm outside. It was in those moments that she would have a steaming cup of tea to her left and a notebook on her blanket covered knee, a pen scribbling ideas down in an attempt to put together a song. Sometimes it didn’t work quite how she had envisioned and sometimes it was the best thing she’d ever written. Either way, writing during a storm brought everything to life. 

Another crack of thunder muffled the sound of the bell above the door when it was pushed open. She couldn’t even feel the rush of the wind as it swooped into the shop quickly. 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” a gruff voice came from the doorway when the thunder had silenced itself back into nothingness, startling Maddox who had just started to clean the coffee machines that lined the back wall of the counter area. “No one warned me that it was going to be torrential out there today. I wouldn’t have worn my bloody converse had I known.” 

Maddox couldn’t see the man’s face, what with his hood being up and covering his head. She could just about make out the shape of his jaw, angular and covered in scruff, but not much more than that. And lo and behold, when Maddox looked down at the stranger’s feet, the converse that she assumed had been white at the start of the day resembled something more of a mouse grey at that point. She could only imagine how soggy his socks were under them and she felt awful that there was nothing she could do for him. 

“I don’t think it was predicted to be this bad out,” she replied. The corners of her lips tilted up into an amused smile even though she knew that the man wouldn’t have been able to see with his back to her. 

As she waited for him to shrug his coat off and potentially order a drink, she rubbed her hands down the front of her apron to get rid of the moisture the cloth had left on them and she leaned against the counter ready to take the young man’s order. Or so she assumed that he was a young man with the sound of his voice; gruff but proper with a hint of an accent that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It definitely wasn’t an English accent, that was for sure. 

Though his voice was sweet all around. Like honey. Or maybe chocolate. Dark chocolate. Sweet and delicate with a hint of sharpness that ignited every single nerve ending in her body. It was deep but not too deep, gentle but rough, soft but clear. It was hard to pinpoint exactly how his voice sounded from the few words he’d spoken to her but she already knew that it was perfect. 

“From now on I’m going to have a change of clothes with me for any change in weather,” the man grumbled, shrugging his wet coat from his body and draping it over the back of a chair. “I’m sorry that the floor is about to get wet.” 

Maddox chuckled, trying not to get too flustered when she saw the man’s face for the first time. He definitely was young, maybe around her age. A mop of light brown hair clung to his head where the rain had gotten to it but it was short enough that the rain hadn’t affected the way that it looked. His eyes were a piercing green that bore into her soul when he looked at her, enchanting her with a spell that drew her to him. And his jaw was angular, sharp and covered in scruff. 

“Don’t worry about it,” she managed to choke out, “saves me having to wash it later.” 

The stranger laughed at her attempt at a joke as he squelched his way to the counter where she stood, hand hovered over the Ipad that was used to take orders. He watched her intently, taking in the way her eyes disappeared behind her eyelids as she blinked rapidly, her tongue poking out of her mouth to wet her lips. 

“Wh-what can I get for you today?” She asked through his stare, trying to keep herself together. 

The man looked at her and then at the board behind her. “You know what, I think I’ll go for the coldest drink that you have, please.” 

“Are you sure that you can take it on?” Maddox chuckled. She eyed him playfully, acting as though she was typing the order out. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s super hot out and our super iced blackberry and cucumber cooler will chill you to the bone.” 

“Give me five!” The man exclaimed, accidentally startling the older couple who had been going about their business quietly. “My apologies,” he spoke softly when he realised what he’d done. 

“Sorry Mr and Mrs Richards. Can I interest you in another pot of tea? And maybe a slice of cake? My treat.” 

The older couple nodded happily, “yes please, dear.” 

“Coming right up for you both. Now,” she continued, turning her attention back to the attractive man who was smiling at her, “what can I really get for you today?” 

“I’ll take a large cappuccino, please? And a slice of whatever cake you’re offering.” 

Maddox nodded gently with a smile. “That sounds good. I’ll just pop the Richards’ tea on and then I’ll ring you up, if that’s alright?” 

“Take your time,” the man replied. 

He turned so that he could lean his left hip on the dark wooden counter with his arms crossed over his chest. But he’d turned his head so that he could watch Maddox potter around the back filling a teapot with a couple of tea bags ready to pour water into it when it had boiled. She moved effortlessly, grabbing everything that she needed with a sense of delicacy and exuberance, a complete contrast to the weather outside. 

“I really hate to sound like a creep but-” 

“Isn’t that something a creep would say before saying something?” Maddox jested, placing the teapot on the side so that she could listen to the man in front of her properly. She couldn’t finish the tea anyway, not with the water still boiling behind her. “I’m sorry, go on.” 

“What I was going to say was weren’t you in that lecture hall that I so beautifully stumbled into and spilled an entire cup of coffee down myself a couple of weeks ago? At Goldsmiths?” 

Maddox tried not to laugh, she really did. The memory was still engrained in her head as though it happened only the day prior. She merely nodded her head, biting her lips into her mouth to stifle the giggles erupting in her tummy. The handsome stranger chuckled at her response, trying not to burst into laughter himself. The memory might have been an embarrassing one but it was funny nonetheless. 

“I’m going to take that as a yes,” he chuckled, blowing air up his face to try and cool himself down. He could feel his cheeks heating up but he didn’t know if it was because he was still slightly embarrassed or because of how warm it was in the shop. Maybe a bit of both. 

“I’m really sorry. It shouldn’t be that funny, she giggled, “but yes, I was there. In fact, I was the one who handed you a tissue to dry yourself up. Though I can guarantee that it didn’t do much to sort you out.” 

“Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want,” the man laughed, shaking his head at the woman in front of him who smiled so brightly he almost forgot that the outside was miserable and grey. “But thank you, I actually really appreciated the tissue. It didn’t do too much to dry me off but at least I was able to act as though it would. I didn’t make it to my lecture that day in the end. I think I wound up going home, getting changed and then falling asleep for a couple of hours. 

Maddox nodded as she turned to stamp the coffee grounds ready to brew the espresso shot for his drink. As she did that, the water was boiling rapidly behind her so she moved to pour it into the pot ready to be taken over to the elderly couple who had long since gotten back to what they were doing before. 

“I wouldn’t have turned up either, so you’re not on your own there. Though I don’t know if my brain would have let me fall asleep. The memory of what had happened would play on repeat until I started to cry and work myself into an anxious headspace.” 

The man nodded as Maddox grabbed two slices of cake from the fridge ready to put on the tray. “I’ll just take these over to Terry and Beatrice and I’ll ring you up properly.” 

He nodded again, watching the girl glide to the corner of the shop where she placed the tray on the table with a smile. He could see the older lady lean into her ear to whisper something and when Maddox turned back around, he could just about make out the end of an eye roll. The corners of his lips turned up into a subtle smile. 

When Maddox turned back around, he tried his best to hide the smile that had made its way to his face though it was no use. Maddox had an embarrassed smile as she walked back over to him, tray in hand with their empty pot of tea balanced on top of it.

“Your cappuccine will be £3.25,” she said as she neared him, skillfully jogging behind the counter to ring up the till once she’d placed the tray down. 

“I’ve only got a fiver. But you can keep the change,” he said as he shoved his wallet back into his pocket. “Say, I don’t reckon there’ll be many more people coming in for a while. Why don’t you join me for a coffee? Would be nice to not have to sit in silence.” 

Maddox turned to the large windows to check on the weather, smiling to herself when she saw that instead of easing off, the rain had gotten a lot heavier and was pooling in every tiny divet of the ground. “Coffee sounds good,” she smiled, prepping her own cup masterfully ready to pour her oat milk latte. “I’m Maddox, by the way.” 

She felt silly for not having introduced herself before but the smile on the stranger’s face, who she guessed wasn’t really a stranger despite him being a stranger, told her that she hadn’t needed to worry. 

“Taron,” he nodded. “But you do know that you’re wearing a badge with your name on it, right? I kinda gathered that your name was Maddox when I saw it.” 

“I forget that it’s there, regularly!” She chuckled, pouring the coffee into the respectful mugs ready to take to the table. “You can go and sit down, if you’d like? I’m only going to be two minutes. As soon as my milk has steamed we’re good to go.”


End file.
